Particle beam therapy system

ABSTRACT

Plural equipment control devices of a particle beam therapy system comprise an equipment operation parameter calculation unit calculating equipment operation parameters based on data given by equipment data servers individually and an equipment operation verification data generation unit generating equipment operation parameter verification data for verifying soundness of the equipment operation parameters, an equipment data server comprises an equipment operation parameter integrating calculation unit calculating so as to obtain equipment operation parameters of each equipment, an equipment operation parameter verification data integrating generation unit generating an equipment operation parameter verification data of each equipment for verifying soundness of equipment operation parameters of each equipment, and a verification data comparison unit comparing equipment operation parameter verification data of each equipment which is received from plural equipment control devices with equipment operation parameter verification data of each equipment which is generated by the operation parameter verification data integrating calculation unit.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a particle beam therapy system for performingtherapy by irradiating an affected part such as a tumor with a particlebeam.

BACKGROUND ART

Regarding radio-therapeutic apparatuses for cancer therapy, a cancertherapy device in which a proton, a heavy ion are used has beendeveloped and constructed. As is well known, in comparison withconventional radiation therapy using X rays, gamma rays, etc., byperforming therapy using a proton, a heavy ion, etc., an affected partof cancer can be intensively irradiated, therefore, therapy can beperformed without affecting normal cells. Further, recently, advancedthree-dimensional scanning methods such as a scanning irradiation methodand stacked conformation radiotherapy method which can suppress theinfluence to normal cells are developed and practicalized. Advancedthree-dimensional scanning methods perform more accurate dosedistribution control by switching beam conditions finely whileirradiation.

A particle beam therapy system comprises an irradiation system includinga treatment room for irradiating predetermined particle beam to apatient according to a treatment plan, and an accelerator system inwhich a particle beam is generated according to a request for a particlebeam in a treatment room and the generated beams are transported to adesignated treatment room under predetermined beam conditions. Further,the accelerator system comprises an injector which generates a particlebeam, a main accelerator including a synchrotron which accelerates aparticle beam, a sub-system of high energy beam transport deviceincluding a rotating gantry which transports and distributes theaccelerated high energy particle beam to a treatment room, and anaccelerator control system. Each of the sub-systems further comprisesequipment including electromagnets, a beam monitor, a high frequencyaccelerating cavity, etc. and the accelerator control system comprisesan equipment control server, a data base, a client and an equipmentcontrol device which directly controls each equipment.

According to conventional particle beam therapy system, an equipmentdata server retains operation parameters of equipment which correspondto necessary beam conditions in the data base. Before startingtreatment, operation parameters of equipment which conforms to necessarybeam conditions is selected from the data base, the operation parameterswhich correspond to each equipment are downloaded in correspondingequipment control device in advance. During treatment, operationparameters which are necessary for designated beam condition areselected from operation parameters which are already downloaded by anequipment control device and equipment is controlled so as to supply aparticle beam which conforms to the beam condition which is required.According to the above mentioned advanced three-dimensional scanningmethods, it is necessary to supply particle beams having a plurality ofbeam conditions, in advance, therefore a plurality of equipmentoperation parameters are downloaded in an equipment control device. (forexample, refer to Patent Document 1).

PRIOR ART REFERENCE Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2006-145213

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

Regarding conventional particle beam therapy system, it is configuredsuch that the above-mentioned equipment data server obtains operationparameters of each equipment by performing calculation based on anecessary beam condition of a particle beam, before starting treatment,each of operation parameters of equipment corresponding to the necessarybeam condition of a particle beam is downloaded in correspondingequipment control device. In general, an accelerator system comprisesmore than one hundred pieces of equipment, regarding pattern data whichare parameters which change depending on time, generally, request fortime resolution (clock) is 1 kHz or higher. Therefore, data size ofoperation parameters of all pieces of equipment corresponding to onebeam condition is extremely large. For example, in a case where a numberof pieces of equipment whose parameters change depending on time isfifty, an operation cycle of a synchrotron is five seconds, necessaryclock is 10 KHz, as many as 250 thousand parameters are required.Consequently, it requires a long time to download operation parametersof equipment from an equipment data server to an equipment controldevice.

Further, in a case where during operation of particle beam therapysystem, operation parameters of equipment which are downloaded into anequipment control device are lost or damaged, for some reasons, itrequires to re-download the operation parameters of equipment from theequipment data server to the equipment control device. In theabove-mentioned case, until re-downloading operation is completed, theaccelerator system cannot supply an appropriate particle. Therefore,performing treatment should be stopped. As above-mentioned, according toconventional configurations, even when operation parameters of equipmentare re-downloaded, it is required to be on standby for a long time, andrestoration time from stopped state of a particle beam therapy system isprolonged. As a result, throughput of treatment may be degraded.

Further, when equipment is adjusted, there is a step such that whilechanging calculation conditions of operation parameters of eachequipment, operation parameters by which desired beam condition can beobtained are determined for each equipment. In the above-mentioned step,every time when a calculation condition of operation parameters of eachequipment is changed, it is required to download operation parameters ofall pieces of equipment from an equipment data server to an equipmentcontrol device. Consequently, it requires a long time to adjustequipment.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, this invention is made.This invention aims to obtain a particle beam therapy system by whichrequiring time for downloading operation parameters of equipment isimproved to be reduced, optimization of beam adjustment work andreduction of suspension time due to re-downloading of an equipmentparameter can be realized.

Means for Solving the Problems

A particle beam therapy system according to this invention comprises anaccelerator configured to accelerate a charged particle beam, a particlebeam transport unit configured to transport a particle beam which is acharged particle beam which is generated by the accelerator, a particlebeam irradiation unit configured to irradiate a particle beam which istransported by the particle beam transport unit to an irradiationobjective, a plurality of equipment control devices which controlsrespectively a plurality of pieces of equipment which are provided atthe accelerator, the particle beam transport unit and the particle beamirradiation unit and an equipment data server which gives data to theplurality of equipment control devices, wherein each of the plurality ofequipment control devices comprises an equipment operation parametercalculation unit which performs calculation to obtain equipmentoperation parameters for operating an accelerator and transporting aparticle beam by a particle beam transport unit based on data which isgiven by the equipment data server and an equipment operation parameterverification data generation unit which generates an equipment operationparameter verification data for verifying soundness of the equipmentoperation parameters which are obtained by calculating in the equipmentoperation parameter calculation unit; and the equipment data servercomprises an equipment operation parameter integrating calculation unitwhich calculates so as to obtain each of equipment operation parametersfor operating a plurality of devices based on data which is given to theplurality of equipment control devices, an equipment operation parameterverification data integrating generation unit which generates each ofequipment operation parameter verification data for verifying soundnessof each of equipment operation parameters which are obtained bycalculating in the equipment operation parameter integrating calculationunit, and a verification data comparison unit which compares each ofequipment operation parameter verification data which is received from aplurality of equipment control devices with each of equipment operationparameter verification data which is generated in the operationparameter verification data integrating generation unit.

Advantage of the Invention

According to a particle beam therapy system of this invention, it isconfigured not only for an equipment data server but also for anequipment control device to have a calculation facility of operationparameters of equipment corresponding to a beam condition, instead ofdownloading equipment operation parameters to an equipment controldevice, by downloading a necessary beam condition, the equipment can becontrolled by operation parameters corresponding to the desired beamcondition. In comparison with equipment operation parameters, data sizeof a beam condition is small, therefore, requiring time for downloadingcan be reduced, and even when many beam conditions are required, datasize of a beam condition to be downloaded can be suppressed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a particle beamtherapy system according to Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of data base which is stored in a data base of aparticle beam therapy system according to Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an equipmentcontrol device and an equipment data server of a particle beam therapysystem according to Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of a particle beam therapysystem according to Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of a particle beam therapysystem according to Embodiment of this invention following FIG. 4.

EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a particle beamtherapy system according to Embodiment 1 of this invention. Hereinafter,Embodiment 1 of this invention will be described based on FIG. 1. Anaccelerator system 1 comprises a sub system including an injector 10, alow energy particle beam transport unit 11, a main accelerator 12, abeam extracting device 13, a high energy particle beam transport unit 14and a rotating gantry 15 having a rotating axis 16, etc. Each of a subsystem comprises bending electromagnets 21 for bending a travellingdirection of a beam, a beam monitor 22, a high frequency acceleratingcavity 23, electromagnets for correcting an orbit 24, quadrupoleelectromagnets for converging or diverging 25, etc. In a treatment room2, a bed for a patient 32 and a particle beam irradiation unit 31 areprovided.

Next, basic operation of the accelerator system 1 and the treatment room2 will be described. In FIG. 1, a particle beam which is assemblage ofion (for example, a hydrogen ion, a carbon ion) which is generated at anion source of the injector 10 is accelerated preliminarily by apre-stage linear accelerator of the injector 10 so as to be acceleratedto be predetermined kinetic energy. A particle beam which is acceleratedpreliminarily is transported from the injector 10, passed through thelow energy particle beam transport unit 11 and guided to the mainaccelerator 12 (will be also simply referred to as an accelerator 12)while being subjected to bending, converging, diverging and correctingof orbit by various kinds of electromagnets 21, 24 and 25. In the mainaccelerator 12, various kinds of electromagnets including the bendingelectromagnets 21, the electromagnets for correcting an orbit 24 and thequadrupole electromagnets for converging or diverging 25 are set for aparticle beam to circulate an orbit, and an accelerating electric fieldwhich is formed by the high frequency accelerating cavity 23 isrepeatedly received. The particle beam is repeatedly accelerated by anaccelerating electric field which is formed by the high frequencyaccelerating cavity 23, and its kinetic energy is increased togetherwith acceleration. As kinetic energy is increased, magnetic fieldstrength which is required for bending a particle beam is changed.Consequently, regarding equipment including various kinds ofelectromagnets 21, 24, 25 which compose the main accelerator 12, theiroperation parameters are changed depending on time. When a particle beamin the main accelerator 12 reaches predetermined kinetic energy and atthe timing when the particle beam can be extracted, the particle beam issent out to the high energy transport unit 14 (will be also simplyreferred to as a particle beam transport unit 14) by the beam extractingdevice 13.

A particle beam which is guided to the particle beam transport unit 14is transported to an appropriate treatment room 2 by action of thebending electromagnets 21, etc. In a case where the particle beamtransport unit 14 has the rotating gantry 15, the rotating gantry 15 isset by a predetermined angle so as to transport a particle beam. It isnecessary to change the setting of operation parameters of eachequipment such as the bending electromagnets 21 of the particle beamtransport unit 14 in accordance with energy of a particle beam so as totransport the particle beam. Each sub system including the injector 10,the low energy particle beam transport unit 11, the main accelerator 12,the particle beam transport unit 14, the rotating gantry 15, etc. whichcompose the accelerator system 1 has the beam monitor 22, by using thebeam monitors 22, the state of a particle beam is properly observed. Theparticle beam irradiation unit 31 which is provided in the treatmentroom 2 has a wobbler electromagnet or a scanning electromagnet, ascatterer, a ridge filter, a multi-leaf collimator, a bolus, etc. Aparticle beam which is transported to the treatment room 2 is irradiatedso as to conform to a shape of an affected part of a patient who issecured to the bed for a patient 32 through the process of scanning to adirection which is perpendicular to a travelling axis of a particlebeam, scattering, momentum dispersion, collimation, compensation, etc.and dose is given to the patient. An amount of a particle beam which isgiven to a patient is observed by a dose monitor which is contained inthe particle beam irradiation unit 31, and a particle beam is irradiateduntil an amount of given dose reaches prescribed exposure value.

Particle beam irradiation is performed according to a treatment plan,and a treatment plan includes at least one beam condition of a particlebeam, operation parameters setting of the particle beam irradiation unit31 and an irradiation condition including an irradiation dose value. Insome cases, one treatment plan includes a plurality of irradiationconditions and the irradiation conditions include two or more kinds ofbeam conditions. In the above-mentioned case, after the irradiation dosewhich is set to an irradiation condition corresponding to one beamcondition is given, operation parameters of each equipment of theaccelerator system 1 are changed so as to correspond to following beamcondition, and irradiation is started under the following irradiationcondition. Until the irradiation dose which is set by all irradiationconditions which are included in a treatment plan is given, theabove-mentioned operation is repeated.

In the same way, the configuration of a control device which is providedin a particle beam therapy system according to the Embodiment will bedescribed referring to FIG. 1. The accelerator system 1 is controlled byan accelerator control system 100. The accelerator control system 100comprises an equipment data server 110, a data base 120, at least oneequipment control device 130 and a timing system 140, and the equipmentdata server 110 and the equipment control device 130, and the equipmentdata server 110 and the data base 120 are connected individually by anetwork for various data communications. The equipment control device130 and the timing system 140 are connected by a control signal line.Further, the equipment control device 130 is connected to a sub systemor equipment by a signal line for setting and monitoring operationparameters of a sub-system (10 to 15) or that of equipment (21 to 25).The equipment control device 130 comprises a CPU for performingcalculation processing, a memory which is a volatile data storage areawhere a CPU can access to the data at a high speed, and a disk which isnonvolatile data storage area, and each of them is connected by acommunication bus in an equipment control device.

The treatment room 2 is controlled by an irradiation control device 160,the irradiation control device 160 is connected to a treatment planningdevice 180 and the equipment data server 110 by a network for datacommunication. Further, the irradiation control device 160, theequipment control device 130 and the particle beam irradiation unit 31are connected by a signal line for setting and monitoring.

Next, a series of operations, from irradiation preparation toirradiation completion which are based on a treatment plan of a particlebeam therapy system according to the Embodiment will be describedreferring to FIG. 1. A treatment planning device 180 transmits atreatment plan including an irradiation condition in a particle beamtherapy system for a patient to the irradiation control device 160. Whena treatment is given to a patient, the irradiation control device 160reads out an irradiation condition which is included in a treatment plancorresponding to the patient, among the irradiation conditions,parameters regarding the particle beam irradiation unit 31 are set tothe particle beam irradiation unit 31, at least one beam condition of aparticle beam regarding the accelerator system 1 is transmitted to theequipment data server 110 as a beam condition setting. Instruction isgiven so as to be able to operate the accelerator system 1 under thebeam condition.

The equipment data server 110 which receives a beam condition searchesequipment operation parameters download state table of the data base 120using at least one beam condition which is included in beam conditionsetting as a search key, and verifies such that the equipment operationparameters which conform to the beam condition are already set in theequipment control device 130. In a case where the equipment operationparameters are not correctly set in the equipment control device 130,the equipment data server 110 instructs the equipment control device 130so as to set equipment operation parameters which conform to the beamcondition, and verifies such that setting of the equipment controldevice 130 is completed. After it is verified, the equipment data server110 transmits beam condition setting completion to the irradiationcontrol device 160, and the accelerator system 1 informs such thatpreparation for operation corresponding to at least one beam conditionof irradiation conditions which is included in the treatment plan iscompleted.

When a notice of setting completion of the beam condition is received,the irradiation control device 160 which completes setting irradiationparameters with regard to the particle beam irradiation unit 31 startsperforming irradiation based on a treatment plan. First, the irradiationcontrol device 160 outputs a beam condition request signal to theequipment control device 130. The signal includes a beam conditioncorresponding to a first irradiation condition of the treatment plan,the equipment control device 130 changes equipment operation parametersso as to correspond to the beam condition, by outputting settingcompletion signal, the completion of changing the equipment operationparameters are informed to the irradiation control device 160. At thistiming, as it was described regarding an operation of the acceleratorsystem 1, the accelerator system 1 is the state in which a particle beamof a beam condition corresponding to the beam condition request signalcan be outputted, however, the beam extracting device 13 of the mainaccelerator 12 does not perform extracting a particle beam.

After the irradiation control device 160 verifies such that all of theequipment control devices 130 output a setting completion signalcorresponding to a beam request signal with regard to a beam conditioncorresponding to a first irradiation condition, all of other preparationconditions with regard to an irradiation for a patient are completed,the irradiation control device 160 outputs a beam ON signal to theequipment control device 130. Each of the equipment control devices 130which receives a beam ON signal performs setting each of equipmentoperation parameters with regard to each of the equipment so as for thebeam extracting device 13 of the main accelerator 12 to performextracting a particle beam and transporting the particle beamcorresponding to the beam condition which is included in the beamcondition request signal to a predetermined treatment room 2. Theparticle beam is processed to be a particle beam having a shape, etc.corresponding to the first irradiation condition by the particle beamirradiation unit 31, and is irradiated to the patient who is secured tothe bed for a patient 32. While a beam ON signal is outputted, when apreparation condition regarding performing irradiation to the patient isnot satisfied, for example, when an irradiation objective is notconsistent with a particle beam due to respiration of the patient, theirradiation control device 160 temporarily stops a beam ON signal so asto stop extracting operation of the beam extracting device 13 of theaccelerator system 1, and temporarily intercepts the irradiation of aparticle beam. When a preparation condition regarding performingirradiation to the patient is satisfied again, the irradiation controldevice 160 outputs a beam ON signal so as to resume performingirradiation to a particle beam.

When a dose monitor which is included in the particle beam irradiationunit 31 monitors dosage which is given by the irradiation and detectssuch that the dosage reaches a prescribed exposure dose of the firstirradiation condition, the irradiation control device 160 stops the beamON signal, and the equipment control device 130 stops operation forextracting a particle beam by the beam extracting device 13 so as not toirradiate a particle beam under the first irradiation condition to apatient any more. In a case where a treatment plan includes only oneirradiation condition, a treatment irradiation according to thetreatment plan is completed. In a case where a treatment plan includesmore than two irradiation conditions, the irradiation control device 160repeats the above-mentioned procedure by using irradiation parameterssetting corresponding to conditions which are subsequent to a secondcondition and a beam condition request signal, prescribed exposure doseis given under all irradiation conditions, and a treatment irradiationaccording to the treatment plan is completed.

Next, in the Embodiment of this invention, an operation of the equipmentcontrol device 130 which shows features of the invention, andcooperation with the equipment control device 130, the equipment dataservers 110 and the data base 120 will be described in details.

Before performing a particle beam treatment by a particle beam therapysystem, it is necessary for the accelerator system 1 to arrange a set ofequipment operation parameters corresponding to a beam condition of anirradiation condition which is included in a treatment plan. Arrangingthe above-mentioned equipment operation parameters will be performed bythe following procedure. First, equipment operation parameterscorresponding to one beam condition are generated by predeterminedmeans. The generated equipment operation parameters are adopted asoperation parameters of the accelerator system 1 and a particle beamwhich is outputted from the accelerator system 1 is verified using thebeam monitor 22. The above-mentioned series of work is repeated until aparticle beam coincides with a desired beam condition, and equipmentoperation parameters which are obtained resultantly are registered inthe data base 120. Alternatively, for example, in a case whereenvironmental condition of the accelerator system 1 is changed,equipment operation parameters which are already registered are reviewedagain, and are reregistered so as to be coincide with a desired beamcondition. The above-mentioned provision work of equipment operationparameters is generally called a beam adjustment work. After a beamadjustment work is completed, the irradiation control device 160transmits at least one beam condition request corresponding to aparticle beam which is necessary for performing a treatment plan for apatient to the equipment data server 110 of the accelerator system 1,and gives an instruction to the accelerator system 1 to prepare to beable to operate under the beam condition corresponding to the treatmentplan.

In the data base 120, a table, as shown in FIG. 2 for managing the stateof equipment operation parameters which are set in the equipment controldevice 130 in the accelerator control system 100 is stored, and eachrecord of the table has ‘beam condition’ and ‘equipment control deviceidentifier’ as a search key, and ‘computational algorithm dataidentifier’, ‘equipment operation parameter verification data’ and‘verified flag’ as a value.

The equipment control device 130 and the equipment data server 110 havethe configuration shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the equipment controldevice 130 for controlling each of a plurality of pieces of equipment isshown as A equipment control device 130A which controls A equipment, Bequipment control device 130B which controls B equipment, etc. Aequipment control device 130A comprises an A equipment operationparameter calculation unit 131A, an A equipment operation parameterverification data generation unit 132A, an A equipment data storage unit133A, etc. Other equipment control devices have the similarconfiguration. An equipment operation parameter calculation unit of eachequipment control device may be collectively referred as an equipmentoperation parameter calculation unit 131. In the same way, it may bereferred as an equipment operation parameter verification datageneration unit 132 and an equipment data storage unit 133.

On the other hand, the equipment data server 110 comprises an equipmentoperation parameter integrating calculation unit 111, an equipmentoperation parameter verification data integrating generation unit 112, averification data comparison unit 113, etc.

An operation of the accelerator control system 100 with regard to a beamadjustment work in the Embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed below referring to flow charts in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. Thefollowing procedure is a procedure in a case where it is necessary tocreate equipment operation parameters corresponding to a new beamcondition in the accelerator system 1, or in a case where it isnecessary to readjust equipment operation parameters corresponding to abeam condition which already exists in the accelerator system 1. First,the equipment data server 110 transmits an equipment operation parametersetting request including a beam condition data which includes at leastone beam condition which is necessary to be generated or readjusted andcalculation algorithm data which includes a part of or a whole ofcalculation algorithm which is necessary for calculating equipmentoperation parameters of the equipment to the equipment control device130 which is necessary to be set (step ST10).

Calculation algorithm is algorithm for calculating equipment operationparameters of the equipment which are necessary for each equipmentcontrol device 130 which is composed of the accelerator control system100 to make equipment which is to be controlled operate so as tocorrespond to a predetermined beam condition. Calculation algorithm maybe, for example, a polynomial expression, and term number and acoefficient of each term may be data. As above mentioned, in advance,form of a plurality of formulas such as polynomial formulas isdetermined, a calculation algorithm data identifier may be given to eachformula, and a calculation algorithm data identifier and coefficientswhich are included in the formula may be data of calculation algorithm.As above mentioned, instead of making whole of calculation algorithm tobe data, by making form of polynomial formulas and coefficients whichare included in the formula to be data, data volume can be fartherreduced. A beam condition which is included in beam condition dataincludes, for example, a name of treatment room 2 to which a particlebeam is transported, energy of a particle beam, strength of a particlebeam, operation period, a beam diameter of a particle beam, gantryangle, etc. Further, calculation algorithm data can include, forexample, a calculation program itself which can be performed by theequipment control device 130, individual features of equipment which areutilized by a calculation program which is incorporated in the equipmentcontrol device 130 and is to be controlled by the equipment controldevice 130, and a calculation parameter which does not depend on a beamcondition of a particle beam which is outputted by the acceleratorsystem 1 such as an operation clock of the timing system 140, etc.

When the equipment control device 130 receives an equipment operationparameter setting request from the equipment data server 110, theequipment operation parameter setting request is stored in the equipmentdata storage unit 133 and equipment operation parameter settingprocessing is started (Step ST20). The equipment operation parametercalculation unit 131 of the equipment control device 130 uses the beamcondition data and the calculation algorithm data so as to calculateequipment operation parameters corresponding to at least one beamcondition which is included in the beam condition data of equipmentwhich is to be controlled by the equipment control device 130 (stepST21). Equipment operation parameters can include a current value and avoltage value of an electromagnet power supply, a frequency, a voltageand a phase of a high frequency which is supplied to a high frequencyaccelerating cavity, a setting value of equipment such as gantry angle,etc. and/or pattern data corresponding to a part of or a whole ofoperation period of the above-mentioned setting value, timing dataregarding operation events of the accelerator system 1 includingacceleration, extraction, deceleration, etc., a control parameter suchas a feedback constant, correction coefficient, etc. and verity-data forverifying soundness of each data.

An equipment operation parameter verification data generation unit 132of the equipment control device 130 calculates equipment operationparameter verification data whose data size is smaller than that of theequipment operation parameters and by which soundness of the equipmentoperation parameters can be verified later by using the equipmentoperation parameters (step ST22). As equipment operation parameterverification data, for example, checksum which is obtained as a resultof exclusive operation of whole of equipment operation parameters,version of calculation algorithm data, data size of operation parametersor combination of the above mentioned may be used.

As the number of all beam conditions which are included in beamcondition data which is received by the equipment control device 130,processing from the step ST21 to the step ST22 will be performedrepeatedly (step ST23). The equipment control device 130 stores a beamcondition which is included in beam condition data which is received inthe step ST20 and all combinations of equipment operation parameterswhich are obtained in the step ST21 corresponding to the beam conditionin the equipment data storage unit 133. Further, the equipment controldevice 130 stores the beam condition, the calculation algorithm data,the equipment operation parameters and equipment operation parameterverification data which is obtained in the step ST22 corresponding tothe equipment operation parameter in the equipment data storage unit 133(step ST24).

After the equipment control device 130 completes processing from stepsST21 to ST23 corresponding to all beam conditions which are included inthe beam condition data, the equipment control device 130 transmitsnotice of equipment operation parameter setting completion to theequipment data server 110 (step ST25).

On the other hand, in an equipment operation parameter integratingcalculation unit 111 of the equipment data server 110, after anequipment operation parameter setting request is transmitted to theequipment control device 130 in step ST10, by using beam condition dataand calculation algorithm data which are included in the equipmentoperation parameter setting request, equipment operation parameters ofequipment which are to be controlled by the equipment control device 130corresponding to all beam conditions are calculated (step ST11).Further, in an equipment operation parameter verification dataintegrating generation unit 112 of the equipment data server 110,equipment operation parameter verification data corresponding to theequipment operation parameters which are obtained by calculation iscalculated (step ST12). The data which is obtained by theabove-mentioned calculation is stored in the database 120. As shown inFIG. 4, processing of steps ST11 to ST12 which is performed in theequipment data server 110 is performed independently of the processingof steps ST21 to ST23 which is performed by the equipment control device130.

After the equipment data server 110 completes calculation processing ofthe step ST 12, when the equipment data server 110 receives equipmentoperation parameter setting completion from the equipment control device130, in a verification data comparison unit 113, the equipment dataserver 110 starts a procedure of comparing equipment operation parameterverification data which is stored in the database 120 to equipmentoperation parameter verification data which is stored in the equipmentdata storage unit 133 of the equipment control device 130 (step ST13).As a result of comparison, in a case where both of them agree, theequipment data server 110 judges such that in the equipment data storageunit 133 of the equipment control device 130, intended equipmentoperation parameter are correctly stored (step ST14 YES), among tablesof the database 120 shown in FIG. 2, the equipment data server 110 setsan equipment control device identifier corresponding to the equipmentcontrol device 130 and a value of ‘verified flag’ of record in which thebeam condition is a key to be ON (step ST15). In a case where they donot agree, the equipment data server 110 judges such that intendedequipment operation parameters are not correctly stored in a memory ofthe equipment control device 130, or inconsistency is generated in abeam condition or calculation algorithm data which is used forcalculation (step ST14 NO), and the equipment data server 110 sets avalue of ‘verified flag’ of the recorded to be OFF (step ST16).

When the equipment data server 110 receives all of equipment operationparameter setting completion notice from the equipment control device130 which transmits an equipment operation parameter setting request,until ‘verified flag’ of corresponding record is set to be ON or OFF,processing of steps ST14, ST15 and ST16 is repeated (step ST17).

The equipment data server 110 searches a record of the database 120using a beam condition which is included in beam condition data which istransmitted in the step ST10 as a key. In a case where at least one ofvalues of ‘verified flag’ of all records corresponding to the searchcondition is OFF, the equipment data server 110 judges such that theaccelerator control system 100 fails preparation for outputting aparticle beam corresponding to the beam condition (step ST18 YES). In acase where the equipment data server 110 judges such that thepreparation is failed, processing is returned to the processing of stepST 10 again, or error processing is performed such as displaying messagefor demanding to inquire the cause of error by outputting an error (stepST19), and processing is terminated (step ST211).

The equipment data server 110 searches a record of the database 120using a beam condition which is included in a beam condition which istransmitted in step ST 10 as a key, in a case where values of ‘verifiedflag’ of all records corresponding to the search conditions are ON, theequipment data server 110 judges such that the accelerator controlsystem 100 succeeds in preparing for outputting a particle beamcorresponding to the beam condition (ST18 NO), and terminates processing(step 211).

According to the particle beam therapy system of the Embodiment of thisinvention having the above-mentioned configuration, following effectscan be obtained. Conventionally, regarding equipment operationparameters for operating the accelerator system 1 under a specific beamcondition, equipment operation parameters themselves are downloaded froma host computer having calculation power or storage power of theequipment operation parameters or a control device to a slave controldevice which actually performs equipment control (for example, refer toparagraph 0028 of Patent Document 1). Further, as above mentioned,generally, data size of equipment operation parameters including patterndata is extremely large, and further, one of the accelerator system 1 iscomposed of many pieces of equipment. Generally, there are a pluralityof equipment control devices 130 which control the many pieces ofequipment, therefore, data communication volume between the equipmentdata server 110 and all of the equipment control devices 130 isextremely large.

In the Embodiment of this invention, the equipment data server 110 andthe data base 120 which correspond to a host computer transmit notequipment operation parameters themselves but calculation algorithm dataand beam condition data which is used for obtaining equipment operationparameters to the equipment control device 130 which corresponds to aslave control device, and the equipment control device 130 obtainsequipment operation parameters. In many cases, data size of calculationalgorithm data and beam condition data is smaller than that of equipmentoperation parameters, in comparison with a case where conventionalequipment operation parameters themselves are downloaded, while datacommunication volume is reduced, same effect as that of conventionalequipment operation parameters download can be obtained. By reducingdata communication volume, efficiency of beam adjustment work of aparticle beam therapy system can be improved by shortening thecommunication time, by reducing necessary performance which is requiredfor communication equipment, effect of cost suppressing of particle beamtherapy system can be expected.

Further, by appropriately calculating equipment operation parameterverification data in each of equipment operation parameter verificationdata generation unit 132 based on equipment operation parameters whichare stored in the equipment data storage unit 133 of each of theequipment control device 130, soundness, that is, whether deteriorationor lacking of equipment operation parameters is generated or not can beverified. At this time, equipment operation parameter verification datais transmitted to the equipment data server 110 so as to compare to avalue of equipment operation parameter verification data of a recordwhich corresponds to the beam condition and an equipment control deviceidentifier in the data base 120. Consequently, without transmittingequipment operation parameters themselves whose data size is larger thanthat of equipment operation parameter verification data, consistencybetween equipment operation parameters which are recognized by the database 120 and equipment operation parameters which are stored in theequipment control device 130 can be verified.

Further, the equipment data storage unit 133 is composed of a disk whichis a nonvolatile data storage region, and operation parameters which arecalculated, operation verification data corresponding to the operationparameters, calculation algorithm data which is necessary forcalculation and beam condition data are stored in the equipment datastorage unit 133. Therefore, even in a case where data in a memory ofthe equipment control device 130 is lost due to loss of power, from theequipment data server 110, without downloading equipment operationparameters, equipment operation parameters corresponding to establishedbeam condition can be automatically prepared. Further, by usingequipment operation parameter verification data so as to verifyequipment operation parameter verification data again, it can be checkedsuch that equipment operation parameters are correctly reset.Consequently, without downloading data, similar result can be obtained,by omitting download time, recovery time from system stop state can beshortened, and as a result, effect of improving performance can beexpected.

This invention is especially effective to a case of irradiation methodso called a scanning irradiation method in which energy of a particlebeam is changed for a plurality of times and is irradiated. According tothe scanning irradiation method, a particle beam which is called a thinpencil beam is moved to a two-dimensional direction which isperpendicular to a travelling direction of the beam so as to form atwo-dimensional irradiation distribution. Further, by energy of aparticle beam, a position where absorbed dose of particle beam is a peak(referred as Bragg peak) is determined, therefore, by changing energy ofa particle beam, an irradiation position in a beam travelling directionis changed. As above mentioned, according to a scanning irradiationmethod, by sequentially changing energy of a particle beam which isemitted from the accelerator 12 and sequentially forming a slice-statedose distribution in a depth direction, an irradiation field is formedby synthesized dose distribution.

In a scanning irradiation method, in order to change energy of aparticle beam, it is necessary to change equipment operation parametersof each equipment which is composed of an accelerator system.Particularly, in order to obtain a particle beam having a predeterminedenergy, since equipment operation parameters of each equipment of themain accelerator 12 change depending on time, therefore, a large amountof equipment operation parameters are needed. As above mentioned, inperforming beam adjusting work, in order to obtain a particle beamhaving a predetermined beam condition (for example, energy of a particlebeam and a current value), it is necessary to set equipment operationparameters of each equipment by changing calculation algorithm, etc. formany times. In a scanning irradiation method, in many cases, a number ofa predetermined beam condition is 10 or more, therefore, this inventioncan shorten communication time of data, beam adjustment work time can bereduced, and effect is especially large.

REMARKS

-   1: accelerator system-   2: treatment room-   12: main accelerator (accelerator)-   14: high energy particle beam transport unit (particle beam    transport unit)-   21, 24, 25: electromagnet-   31: particle beam irradiation unit-   100: accelerator control system-   110: equipment data server-   111: equipment operation parameter integrating calculation unit-   112: equipment operation parameter verification data integrating    generation unit-   113: verification data comparison unit-   120: database-   130: equipment control device-   131: equipment operation parameter calculation unit-   132: equipment operation parameter verification data generation unit-   133: equipment data storage unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. A particle beam therapy system comprisingan accelerator configured to accelerate a charged particle beam, aparticle beam transport unit configured to transport a particle beamwhich is a charged particle beam generated by the accelerator, aparticle beam irradiation unit configured to irradiate a particle beamwhich is transported by the particle beam transport unit to anirradiation objective, a plurality of equipment control devices whichcontrols respectively a plurality of pieces of equipment which areprovided at the accelerator, the particle beam transport unit and theparticle beam irradiation unit and an equipment data server whichprovides data to the plurality of equipment control devices, whereineach of the plurality of equipment control devices includes (i) anequipment operation parameter calculation unit which performscalculation to obtain equipment operation parameters for operating theaccelerator and transporting a particle beam by the particle beamtransport unit based on data which is given by the equipment dataserver, and (ii) an equipment operation parameter verification datageneration unit which generates equipment operation parameterverification data for verifying soundness of the equipment operationparameters which are obtained by calculating in the equipment operationparameter calculation unit; and wherein the equipment data serverincludes (i) an equipment operation parameter integrating calculationunit which calculates so as to obtain each of equipment operationparameters for operating a plurality of devices based on data which isgiven to the plurality of equipment control devices, (ii) an equipmentoperation parameter verification data integrating generation unit whichgenerates each of equipment operation parameter verification data forverifying soundness of each of equipment operation parameters which areobtained by calculating in the equipment operation parameter integratingcalculation unit, and (iii) a verification data comparison unit whichcompares each of equipment operation parameter verification data whichis received from a plurality of equipment control devices with each ofequipment operation parameter verification data which is generated inthe operation parameter verification data integrating generation unit.2. The particle beam therapy system as claimed in claim 1 wherein thedata which is provided to the equipment control device from theequipment data server includes calculation algorithm for calculation inthe equipment operation parameter calculation unit.
 3. The particle beamtherapy system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the data which is providedto the equipment control device from the equipment data server includesa plurality of beam conditions corresponding to a plurality of energy ofa particle beam for forming an irradiation field with integrated dosedistribution by sequentially changing energy of a particle beam which isextracted from the accelerator so as to sequentially form a slice-statedose distribution in a depth direction in the irradiation objective. 4.The particle beam therapy system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the datawhich is provided to the equipment control device from the equipmentdata server includes a plurality of beam conditions corresponding to aplurality of energy of a particle beam for forming an irradiation fieldwith integrated dose distribution by sequentially changing energy of aparticle beam which is extracted from the accelerator so as tosequentially form a slice-state dose distribution in a depth directionin the irradiation objective.